More about our football breaks to Champions League
The Champions League is the biggest football club competition in the world – the one all the big European sides want to win.
Evolving from the European Cup, the Champions League was first played for in 1992. Very rarely has the trophy been retained by the winners, such is the level of competition between the giants of Spain, England, Germany and Italy. With games taking place in midweek it can make for a perfect city break, combining business and pleasure if needs be!
Nickes.Com has been delivering fantastic Champions League packages for fans and corporate clients alike since 1997 – book now with confidence!
Champions League draw
The qualifying rounds take place throughout the summer before we know the final 32 clubs who will compete in the group stages. The top four finishers from La Liga, Bundesliga, Premier League and Serie A make up half the sides and the Europa League winners also automatically qualify. After the eagerly anticipated draw in Monaco in late August the groups of four take each other on, home and away, in the run-up to Christmas.
The top two sides in each group go through to the knockout stages that get under way in February. It’s then drama all the way until we reach the final, with the 2019/20 competition climaxing at the Ataturk Stadion in Istanbul, Turkey, on Saturday, June 1, 2019.
Liverpool win Champions League
La Liga sides have dominated the competition in recent times, winning five Champions Leagues in a row. But in 2019 it was two English sides who made the final in Madrid and both reached that stage in dramatic style.
Liverpool were 3-0 down to Barcelona after the semi-final first leg but stormed back to win the second leg 4-0 and go through on aggregate. Meanwhile Tottenham also overcame first leg deficit to beat Ajax in Amsterdam to secure their first ever Champions League final appearance.
In that game, in the Wanda Metropolitano, Mo Salah put Liverpool in front with an early penalty and Divock Origi secured the cup for the Reds with a second goal late on.
It’s cup football under the floodlights involving the biggest clubs on the planet and demand for tickets is always high, particularly in the latter stages. Book your hotel and ticket package with Nickes.Com or contact sales@nickes.com to arrange your bespoke trip!